Carlos smiled. “Well, when you’re a big predator that no one expects to see outside of a zoo, that space can be hard to find.”
“I can imagine.” Pauline felt the force of how lucky she was, living out here—and in a form that no one would remark on if they saw it.
“Now I’m talking about me again,” Carlos said with an air of realization. “I wanted to hear more about you.”
Pauline raised her hands. “There’s not really much to tell! My life has been pretty boring. Grew up here, went to high school with Lynn—she was a year behind me—got married like a lovestruck teenager, got divorced like a smarter adult. I’ve worked a few jobs, but mostly it’s been waitressing.”
“Do you like it?”
Pauline hesitated. “Some days. I like seeing all the different kinds of people who come and go, and I like that Oliver’s is still a hub for the locals. I like my co-workers. Being on my feet all day is hard, and sometimes it’s tough to smile and give good customer service when you’re not feeling it.”
Carlos nodded. “Did you ever have a dream job?”
Pauline sighed. “A mother.”
Carlos reached out, and after a second, Pauline gave him her hand. He squeezed it, and for just a moment, Pauline felt like she could just let go, cry about it like she hadn’t in years—certainly not in front of anyone else.
But they were in public, so instead she breathed, blinked, and focused on the feel of his warm, rough hand against hers.
They sat together for a long minute. Carlos didn’t try to say anything, just held her hand, and somehow it was better than anyone’s placating words had ever been.
***
Pauline was amazed at how much of a rich asshole Carlos wasn’t.
Gary had loved the sound of his own voice—which had been great when they were teenagers, and Pauline loved it too. He was funny and smart, liked to read and talk about what he’d read, and she’d always enjoyed listening to what he had to say, what he’d learned and thought about.
It had taken her a long, long time to realize that Gary was not, actually, that interested in what Pauline thought. He enjoyed telling her things, correcting her when she was mistaken, and having her ask him questions, but he’d never quite managed to care about her opinion. Certainly not as much as he cared about his own.
Carlos, on the other hand—
Carlos asked her what she wanted to order, and got that for both of them. Carlos wanted to know about her life, her experiences, her wants.
And as they were leaving the restaurant, Carlos let out a breath, looked around at the moonlit forest stretching out from the parking lot, and asked, “So what do you think I should do with my life?”
“Me?” Pauline asked, half-laughing. “Why should I know what you want to do?”
“It’s not about what I want to do,” Carlos said, with a thoughtful line between his brows. “Or, rather, I don’t know what I want to do. So I’ve graduated to asking smart people what they think.”
Smart. Who had ever called her smart? Not Gary, that was for absolute sure.
“I think,” Pauline said slowly, “that you should find a way to—to help people while connecting with them.”
“How do you mean?”
Pauline tried to unpack what she was thinking. “You have a lot of money, right?” Then she heard herself and had to backpedal. “Sorry—that was rude—”
“No, no,” Carlos said firmly. “You’re right. I have a lot of money. More than I know what to do with, and it’s all invested in a way that’s making me more money without me even doing anything. It’s all a bit excessive.”
Pauline laughed a little at that. “Okay. So, you could just give your money away to charity, and that would be helping people. But I don’t think that that would be fulfilling for you. And it probably wouldn’t take up much of your time.”
“You’d be surprised,” Carlos murmured, but he motioned for her to keep going.
“So I think,” Pauline said firmly, “that you should find some project that takes a lot of money, but also needs you to be there on the ground, with the people that it’s helping. That way you can see what you’re doing, make a community, and so it’ll help you as much as it helps them.”
“That sounds perfect,” Carlos said quietly. “Any ideas for candidates?”
Pauline shook her head. “I think that’s the sort of thing you have to figure out for yourself.”